Regional focus/area studies

Schrift-Oralitat: Zur Geschichte von Vers, Zeile und Gedicht

Article Abstract:

Modern German poetry has evolved over the years to arrive at its typographical format, an arrangement of lines rather than verses. The history of German poetry relies on silent reading, hearing, and reciting. Poems enriched life long before the written word. Eighteenth-century hymns influenced the spoken aspects of poems, which sets them apart from prose. This oral component of poetry remains in 20th-century literature. The article is in German.

Der Phanothyp Gedicht

Article Abstract:

The new definition of a German poem is a text of lines rather than verses. Poems in German are no longer than two pages and are meant for silent reading, in contrast to the English tradition of reciting poetry. Poems are densely woven structures with multiple layers of meaning. There are optical and inherent dimensions of language, linking the line text to reading music scores. The article is in German.